Arch-viaduct.



D. B. LUTEN.

ARGH VIADUGT.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.23,, 1910.

1,027,742,. Patent ed May 28, 1912 wtweomo I V 5 cmfcn I To all whom it may concern DANIEL B. LUTEN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ARCH-VIADUCT.

Specification Letters Patent. Patented 28,1912.

I Application filed December 23, 1910. Serial No. 598,916. I

Be it known that I, DANIEL B. LUTEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and Stateof Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Arch-Viaductsbf which the following 15 a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in arch viaducts whereby the arches composing the viaduct may be erected on light piers with high springings to provide maximum, waterway, but in sections ending ata pier having low springings so that failure of any section will notrwreck' the entire structure. This invention is illustrated in the accompanying, drawing which. is an elevation of a viaduct embodying my improvement.

A viaduct composed ofarches in series usually requires narrow piers and flat arches with elevatedspringi'ngs to provide suilicient waterway without excessive elevation of the roadway "supported on the 'arches' Sincethe thrust of one arch bal ances that of its neighbor on a pier, the

-. only pier need be made thick enough to carry the vertical loads of the arches. But this requires that the two arches thrust against each other on the pier at all times, in order that the thrust ofione may be balanced by that of the other. If one of such arches be destroyed the thrust of the other will overturn the pier and cause failure of that arch and in turn each succeeding pier and arch will fail. \Vhen such a viaduct comprises a great number of arches, it is desirable to divide the viaduct into sections comprising a limited number of arches, so

'that if one arch or one pier should collapse the failure would not extend beyond that section in which the arch qr pier is included. Such sections ordinarily may include six or seven arches all of which'may be wrecked by failure of any one of them, but the failure cannot extend to adjoining sections. The number of arches desirable in such sections depends upon the amount of obstruction and added cost occasioned by ,the

' method employed of isolating each section from its neighbor. It usually happens also that the building of,a long viaduct must extendover such aperiod of time as to be menaced by severe floods. The arches are built successively from one end to economize in lumber for centers, which thus maybe used repeatedly, and also because the buildofthe entire series on centers at the .to maintain the balance on that pier.

the arches of the section under actual con-.-

struction alone; would fail.

In. the drawing-the fiatlarch es 1 are su ported on high. narrow piers 3 abundant y able to sustain the weight of the arches as long as they balance one another on a pier. The sprin'gings 4 are elevated to provide maximum waterway. At an intermediate pier 5 whichI propose to make the end of a section as referred to above, the springings 6 of the two supported arches are depressed 'to such an extent that if one of the arches were removed from the pier, the pier would still support the thrust of the other without overturning. This depressing of the springings is accomplished by distorting the arches 2, and if desired also increasing their spans, so that the arches may retain their symmetrical arrangement with respect to each pier y employing columnar supports 7 for the roadway 10 adjacent this abutment-pier, socalled because like an abutment it is capable of resisting horizontal thrust, the roadway construction may be maintained complete up to the pier regardless of failure of'the adjacent section. Whereas if the arches were covered. with earth filling to support the roadway as would ordinarily be employed for the arches 1, the filling would run 'out of the arch at the pier on failure of the adjacent section, permitting collapse of the road-' way. for part of the span. The columnar supports moreover producelighter loading, acting with less severity on the abutmentpier, and the openings between columns increase .the waterway. In addition to which they enhance the appearance of the structure.

The upper part 8 of the abutment-pier may be made a solid nlass'of masonry, thus producing great weightvon the base to resist overturning. An expansion joint 9 1s essenarches free of i t-ial ateach side of the upper part of the pier to eliminate temperature stresses. If new thesection to the right of the abutment-pier 5 should collapse, the section to the left and including the upper part 8 of the pier 5 would remain standing; and similiarly for the other section.

A means is thus provided by my invention of effectively localizing a collapse in any part of an arclrviaduct.

I claim 1. A series of earth-filled arches with elevated springings and balanced on slender piers, combined with an intermediate abut ment-pier supporting the ends of two arches with depressed springings at the abut-mentpier, and with the roadway over the arches adjacent the abutment-pier supported by columns resting upon the arches.

2. A series of arches with elevated springings on piers, combined with an intermediate abutment-pier supporting the depressed ends of two of the aforesaid arches, and with columnar supports resting on the arches adja'cent the abutment-pier.

3. A series of arches with elevated springings on piers combined with an intermediate abutment-pier supporting the depressed ends of two of the aforesaid arches.

4. An abutment-pier supporting the depressed ends of a plurality of arches combined with other adjacent piers supporting the opposite elevated ends of the aforesaid arches.

5. An abutment-pier pressed ends of a plurality'of arches, and intermediate to other piers supporting the elevated ends of the arches.

In witness .whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 13th day of December, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and ten.

DANIEL B. LUTEN. [L. s.]

Witnesses ARTHUR M. H001), THOMAS W. itioliiniaxs.

supporting the de- 

